TheEusebius McKaiserShow

The government issued Max condoms are the realisation of government's aim to make condoms more attractive for people.

This is according to South African National Aids Council (Sanac) CEO Dr Fareed Abdullah, who spoke to #NightTalk's Gugs Mhlungu and Sizwe Dhlomo about the qualities of these new condoms.

The Max condoms were distributed for the first time by the Department Health in July this year.

In Parliament on Thursday, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa encouraged Members of Parliament (MPs) to make use of the government issued condoms, declaring that the "Max is for maximum pleasure, protection, and it does not make noise at all".

The Choice condom brand was seen as a cheap low quality brand, which in fact was a very high quality condom

— Dr Fareed Abdullah, CEO of the South African National Aids Council (Sanac)

The Max condoms take the place of Choice condoms, which received criticism from people for their smell. Despite this, Dr Abdullah says that the quality of Choice condoms compared favourably to some of the more popular condom brands.

Dr Abdullah also dismissed suggestions that Choice condoms were noisy, saying that this criticism was directed at the first female condom which was issued by government.

We need to do everything we can to maximize the utilization of condoms in the country, because it is a big problem

— Dr Fareed Abdullah, CEO of the South African National Aids Council (Sanac)

Dr Abdullah says that there is a need in the country to encourage South Africans to make use of condoms.

He says that condom use is one of the main strategies to combat HIV/Aids, and a better smelling and better looking condom can encourage people to safer sexual practices.